Bettez Sixth in 10K for Women's Track & Field on First Day of NEICAAA Championship Meet

WILLIAMSTOWN - Sophomore Natalie Bettez finished sixth in the 10,000 meters to top the Tufts University women's outdoor track & field team's performances on the first day of the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association (NEICAAA) Championships held Friday at Williams College.

Bettez timed 37:29.95 in the 10K to score three sixth-place points for the Jumbos. There were 20 entries in the race overall.

With those three points, Tufts is tied for 21st in team scoring at the NEICAAA meet which features teams from Divisions I, II and III.

Junior Brittany Bowman missed scoring for the Jumbos in the 5,000 meters by one place. She was ninth in a 17:26.23 time. Freshman Haley Barthel also ran in the 5K for Tufts and placed 13th (17:44.89). That's a season best for her.

Returning to action after missing some time with an injury, junior Annalisa DeBari narrowly missed qualifying in the 100-meter hurdles. Her 14.79 finish was 10th overall as eight moved on to the final.

Freshman Julia Kissel threw the javelin 127'2" (38.76m) for 16th overall and fourth among Division III entries. Jumbo senior co-captain Rita Donohoe did not qualify for the final in the 400 meters and was 19th in the prelims with a time of 58.22 seconds. Freshman Nehalem Kunkle-Read ran 1:05.65 in the 400-meter hurdles for 21st in those preliminaries.